Beating Estrada Opens Up A New World For ‘Bam’ Rodriguez

As Texas’ Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez elevates to his big moment Saturday night against veteran WBC super-flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada, he will find in victory a twist on an old phrase.

It’s now, “Go East, young man.”

Rodriguez, 24, meets Mexico’s Estrada, 34, at Phoenix’s Footprint Center in a possible changing-of-the-guard bout that “Bam” prepared for by sparring frequently at trainer Robert Garcia’s Riverside, Calif., gym against Estrada’s trilogy rival, four-division champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez.

Should Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) emerge victorious, he will see two of the division’s champions, WBO belt-wearer Kosei Tanaka and WBA four-division champion Kazuto Ioka, are from Japan. Ioka seeks to double-down on his belt collection in his July 7 unification against Mexico’s unbeaten IBF champion Fernando Martinez.

“Unify,” ProBox TV analyst Paulie Malignaggi advised Rodriguez on Monday’s episode of “Deep Waters.” “It’s hard to make the money in this division unless you’re fighting the top guys. Yes, because of the Latino (Estrada, Carlos Cuadras) and American (Rodriguez) guys, we’ve seen these weight classes gain popularity in the West, but with Ioka and (Tanaka) around, I think (Rodriguez) is not scared to (unify). This fight will tell us.”

Given the support that Japanese crowds displayed May 6, when they filled the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome for undisputed super-bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue’s defense Mexico’s Luis Nery, “Deep Waters” analyst Chris Algieri says the opportunity is ripe to maximize earnings in the Land of the Rising Sun.

“I’m going over there and collecting titles,” Algieri said. “It’s important for (Rodriguez) to travel the world, to get acknowledgement from those fans, to let them see that brilliance and make that money.

“The money is in the East. That money in Japan is different. Get those titles. Get that bag.”

Malignaggi and Algieri praised two-division champion Rodriguez for positioning himself to do so thanks to his devoted attention to his craft.

“Top-quality sparring always makes you better. You always seek that out for a big, important fight,” Malignaggi said. “It’s both for the skillset and the little subliminal things that ‘Bam’ has talked about with ‘Chocolatito.’ The veteran tactics and the intensity. You can’t (get that) from punching bags. It doesn’t get you over that intensity threshold.

“As long as you’re not leaving anything in the gym, which, at a young age, you’re probably not. A high-energy, super-skilled guy, (Rodriguez) is the fresher guy.”

Algieri similarly is impressed with Rodriguez’s intellectual approach, which is similar to that of his former world-champion brother, Joshua Franco.

“He’s a very calculated young man who takes the sport seriously,” Algieri said. “Very calculated in their approach – the way he cuts his angles, the way he creates openings. It’s something you don’t see a lot of young fighters do and that’s why he gives veteran fighters such trouble.

“I don’t have a bad thing to say about (Rodriguez).”

Now, it’s just a matter of confronting the Mexican legend in Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs), who has already proven so much by twice defeating Gonzalez, by beating Cuadras and former champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.

It’s about “understanding that guy you’ve always looked up to, the guy you watched all those fights as a kid … you are whupping his ass now,” Algieri said.